HelixChat Goes Live

2004.06.11--Yesterday we conducted a public test of our latest networking software update. Practically as an afterthought, the test included a Chat window that allowed those helping out to post comments as they tested.

Even though the Chat window was unoptimized, the feature proved to be quite popular. So we decided to "finish" it and put it to work as the foundation of a weekly online one-hour meeting, beginning at 1:00pm EDT (-0400 GMT) next Friday, June 18th.

The live HelixChat will initially serve two purposes. First, it will give us a chance to exercise the code a bit, and hopefully expose more users to how well the new TCP/IP code actually works. Second, it will open up a new channel for users to communicate with us. You can jump on, ask a question, make a comment and possibly even get an answer!

Over time, and with your suggestions, the HelixChat will evolve--both literally and figuratively--into a very useful way to get input on issues that affect product development, sales and marketing.

Once we get it rolling, in case you miss a particular HelixChat, the chats will be archived as documents in the database that you can retrieve anytime and we’ll archive them in our Forums as well. And the code for the HelixChat itself is already available in our samples library in case you want to put it into your own collections.

There are no guarantees other than that we will be standing by, ready to communicate with you. We can’t promise we’ll answer every question, but we’ll certainly give it our best shot. See you next Friday at 1:00pm!

Update: HelixChat: Talk to QSA on Friday Afternoons

Since this issue of The Latest Word was published, the HelixChat has become a regular part of our business. In addition, the chat server is on 24/7 and has become a valuable test and demo server for our customers. If you want to experience Helix ‘over the internet’ this is a good place to do it.

On Friday afternoons members of the QSA ToolWorks staff come online for our weekly “HelixChat” where, together with Helix users from around the world, we discuss everything from the latest in the Helix saga to the best in French cuisine. HelixChat uses Helix Client 6.0, so it also provides a good way to demonstrate Helix to a potential customer or to test out a remote network connection. If you do not have Helix Client 6.0, you can download the Client installer on our download page.